Kantei

NH-0019 Rank 70

Echizen-jū Hōki no Kami Fujiwara Hirotaka

伯耆守藤原汎隆 ／ 越前住以□鉄作之

Shintō blade of the Echizen Shimosaka school by a smith ranked wazamono. 71.6 cm nagasa, with purple-lacquered koshirae and shirasaya. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon.

Shintō (1596-1780)Early Edo period (1624–44)Echizen (Fukui)NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

Photographs by the seller at origin.

Description

Katana signed “Echizen-jū Hōki no Kami Fujiwara Hirotaka” (越前住伯耆守藤原汎隆). Hirotaka is one of the leading names of the Echizen Shimosaka school and trained under Kanetane, among the most celebrated smiths of the province; the title of Hōki no Kami was granted only to craftsmen of standing. He is further ranked as wazamono, the category of smiths whose blades were tested and certified as especially sharp. Echizen prospered under the Matsudaira, direct kin of the Tokugawa, and drew many Mino smiths — Hirotaka's master among them — known collectively as Echizen Seki: hence the togari, the peaks rising out of the hamon, a Mino-den trait. The blade measures 71.6 cm nagasa with 1.06 cm sori. The photographs show a clean tang, signed on both faces and with a single mekugi-ana, features of an ubu tang; the frames devoted to kizu reveal no flaws. It is supplied with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, shirasaya and a koshirae with purple saya and gilt tsuba, together with a carrying case and a maintenance kit.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, with shirasaya and koshirae
  • Hirotaka is ranked wazamono, blades tested for cutting ability
  • Echizen Shimosaka school; pupil of Kanetane
  • Koshirae with purple saya and a well-worked gilt tsuba
  • The photographs show a signature on both faces and a single mekugi-ana: features of an ubu tang
  • Supplied with a carrying case and a maintenance kit

Points to bear in mind

  • The signature carries no date
  • The original seller dates the blade to the early Edo period (1624-1644), while the smith's biography places him in the middle and late seventeenth century
  • The condition of the tang is not stated: it is inferred from the photographs
  • The mounting is neither dated nor its fittings documented

Score breakdown

59.9/100

The score shares out 100 points: Signature and date 18 · Tang 22 · Mounting 18 · Declared condition 20 · Blade 8 · Shirasaya 4 · Price 10. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. The mounting starts from what is known of its period, adds what vouches for it (its own NBTHK paper, a signed fitting, a crest) and subtracts what has been restored (saya, ito, same, habaki or sageo).

  1. Signature and date 10 of 18 Signed, with no engraved date
  2. Tang 20 of 22 Tang intact according to the photographs
  3. Mounting 0 of 18 Modern mounting
  4. Declared condition 13 of 20 Minor flaws declared
  5. Blade 8 of 8 71.6 cm: within the usable range
  6. Shirasaya 4 of 4 With a storage shirasaya
  7. Price 4.9 of 10 Rank 71 of 139 by price, from the most affordable to the dearest